OK, the heated steering is nice... but mine gets nice and toasty after I push the button after the car turns on. And then it won't come on again for another hour. Since I take mostly short trips, I thought it was just a thermostat or something keeping it a certain temp, but I just took a 2 hr trip to SD and back.

The damn thing comes on briefly, gets nice and warm. And (literally) it doesn't switch on again for another hour. The switch of course turns off after 30 minutes, and I have to switch it back on. I've tried leaving it off for a while and hitting it again, but NOTHING! After (roughly) an hour, it does that quick cycle again.

Does anyone else's operate like this?

 

That is because it shuts off after i believe 10 or 15mins so it dont overheat and crack the leather due to excessive heat.

This is normal on most systems that have heated seats, because they dont want it heating for too long cause then the coils lose their life and the leather gets old quick. So they integrate this with the steering wheel and heated side mirrors also.

Dixit

 

I experienced a similar problem too. At first I thought the heater had broken. I was using the heater, the switch was on (light on), and the wheel got hot. After about 15-20 minutes, the light was still on, but the wheel got cold. I tried turning the switch on/off again and again, but the wheel didn't warm up again. I parked the car figuring that the heating element must have burnt out (the wheel WAS getting very hot!). Next time I came out to the car, I turned on the heater and it worked! Now I realize that there must be a relay controlled by the switch. The high current circuit, used for the heater, must have a self-resetting circuit breaker on it. When the wheel got too hot, it tripped the circuit breaker. Then the breaker had to cool down and reset before the heater could be re-activated. The switch stayed lit the whole time because it was on a different control circuit for the relay and therefore always had power. I hope this helps!

 

assuming you have your heat on, shouldnt the wheel be about the same temp as the rest of the car after 20 mins? is there any need for the heated wheel at that point?

 

ok but what if I opened all my windows and the steering wheel got cold again? :-P

the room temperature leather isn't the same as when it's all warmed up. I want my hands as toasty as my butt!

 

Then sit on your hands and drive with your butt !!!

 

 

thats the worst idea ive ever heard.....then his butt will get cold!

 

oh that's right! damn. glad I read this post before trying it.

 

Well, I'm glad I was directed to this post (thanks Michael). I feel much better after reading this thread; at least I know mine isn't broken. I figured out after a few times of getting in the car after it had sat for a and swithing it on and it working that it must be a very controlled (and specifically timed) process. At least now I won't waste my time and that of my dealer to take it in and have it "fixed".

I just picked up my 02 last night, and the owner manual doesn't do as good a job (none at all, actually) explaining to us newbies to such luxury accoutrements just what our expectations should be.

At least you all know now that there is another out here who's system behaves just the same way. Evidently, they all work just as designed!

Scott